Captain Jack
5.7,
Trad, 180 ft (55 m), 2 pitches,
Avg: 1.6 from 37
votes
FA: J. Steiger, J. Saviers-Steiger, August 2008
Utah
> Wasatch Range
> Central Wasatch
> Big Cottonwood…
> Storm Mtn Picni…
> Storm Mtn Island
Access Issue: See bullet points in description.
Details
Description
Captain Jack climbs the two-tiered arete right of Six Pence in two pitches.
P1: The first pitch climbs either on or slightly left of the lower arete, protected by gear and two bolts, until it slopes back and a belay can be established on a fairly decent ledge from nuts and cams (as noted by one of the comments, a set of chains has been recently added (not by me) just below the ledge). The first pitch starts about 15 feet right of the base of Six Pence, either by climbing the smooth face left of the arete or the arete proper.
P2: The second pitch traverses left to gain the upper arete, then climbs the rib past a bolt to the top, avoiding the ugly chimney/gully to the left.
A better second pitch -- which elevates this climb to two stars IMO -- ascends the face right of the upper arete past 5 bolts (this is currently posted as Wind Up, but at one point was posted as Steve the Pirate). It is possible to do this alternative and the first pitch of Captain Jack in one rope-length (a 60m rope may be necessary). NB: Tony Calderone's 2017 BCC guide shows the first pitch of Captain Jack and this 5-bolt finish as "Broken Fin" and first climbed in 1997 (but it doesn't say by who).
Location
To the right of Six Pence is a large, dark chimney/gully. Captain Jack climbs the somewhat low-angle arete to the right of the chimney/gully. The easiest way to find Six Pence and Captain Jack is to go to the upper left end of the amphitheater and walk left along the base of the crag up a scree slope to its top, above which the bolts on Six Pence are obvious.
Protection
Standard trad rack. The majority of the protection is in horizontal cracks (some ingenuity may be necessary). The 2 bolts on the lower arete and the bolt on the upper arete were added after the FA. Walk off the top to the right.
![A lot of places for trad placements if you use some creativity. It may not look like it from this photo, but this was a solid flake and the #2 Tricam was bomber enough to whip on.]()
[Hide Photo] A lot of places for trad placements if you use some creativity. It may not look like it from this photo, but this was a solid flake and the #2 Tricam was bomber enough to whip on.
![This is the line of Captain Jack, I think. Sorry for the low quality.]()
[Hide Photo] This is the line of Captain Jack, I think. Sorry for the low quality.
Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
SMOGden, UT
"If climbing isnt there already, it is fast approaching a perfect storm where there are more climbers than ever who know less than ever about climbing safety. Learning to climb meant starting at the beginning with knots and ropework, placing gear and building anchors. You became self-reliant, learned about gear, and the complexities and technical jiggery helped keep you from getting in over your head."
Read a book, take a class, the problem here isn't the description or the route. Jul 24, 2013
Salt Lake City, Ut
BTW, coming prepared doesn't just mean bringing the right equipment. Aug 21, 2013
SMOGden, UT
Similar to how you missed my point, you also missed plenty of opportunities for gear. I climbed this last year and did not find it run-out at all. The gear was more creative than your pull and plug pieces, but it was there.
You and your partner thought there fewer opportunities for gear, but only because you both failed to see them.
I'm not going to spell the article out for you, but when you read between the lines, more and more people are going out without knowing the basics. In your case when/how to place gear that is not just a cam and not in a dead-vertical crack.
You didn't get the article, so I don't expect you to get any of this, but the problem here is that you got in over your head, you got scared, then you bitched about it on the internet. You blamed the description and route for its inadequacies, when you should be looking at your own. Aug 21, 2013
Salt Lake City, UT
I placed 12 pieces on the first pitch. I wasn't looking too hard, just was curious if they were there after reading this thread. I passed several cam placements right of the arete, and I didn't use any opposing nuts, offsets, or ingenuity. Small nut placements were marginal because the thinner flakes and small cracks are still friable, but there were fine placements to be had. I'd say this is a great place to practice looking for gear in quartzite, but gear was more uninspiring than technical. Maybe practice for the beginning trad leader looking to do Sundial, the last pitch of Steort's, or other similarly featured BCC climbs.
I did have a short "runnout" on the low angle terrain above the first bolt, ~10 feet of 5.easy, in same league as the neighboring sport 5.6s but with easier climbing. If you can climb Six Appeal, Six Pence, Aqualung, or Encore, don't be deterred by this thread. That said, the gear isn't always bomber. If the idea of climbing a move or two between inobvious placements terrifies you, just go climb Layback or Nice Little Crack or Storm Mountain Stupor. They're better climbs. Sep 10, 2015
Salt Lake City, UT
Nuts and tricams excel here. You can probably leave your cams at home for this one and instead use the route to practice your passive and semi-passive (tricams) placements. I didn't have any micro nuts or ball nuts with me, but there were spots for those as well. On the first pitch I think I only used one cam (green Totem), two nuts, and 3 tricams (#2, #2.5, #5) in addition to the two bolts. May 9, 2023
Salt Lake City, UT